You Again?

This Spectacled Owl was one of the hundred or so birds I cared for during my time at the San Antonio Zoo. Most of our birds, whether raised in captivity or the wild, habituated to their caretakers. His mate remained unphased by me, but every morning when I entered their enclosure with an offering of food, this little guy would dramatically swoop to the highest branch in what felt like genuine surprise, and watch me with deep indignation, as if it had never happened before. I didn’t like that I caused him anxiety, but I did find his apprehensive personality endearing.